Checking device



96%. 17, 1933. H RlGHETT] 1,93,43@

CHECKING DEVICE Filed May 27. 1931 FIG. 1. )2

III

IN VEN TOR.

BY fly? 1 ATTORNE Patented Oct. 17, 1933 I CHECKING DEVICE HomerRighetti, San Francisco, Calif., assignor of one-third to WilliamMcMillan and one-third to Cerf Rosenthal, both of San Francisco, Calif.

Application May 27, 1931. Serial No. 540,370 g 11 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for checking the thrust of one bodyrelative to another, and more particularly the invention relates to thetype of checking devices in which is provided a 6 fluid pressure mediumadapted to flow through ports from one chamber to another, responsive tothe relative movement of bodies to which the device is attached. Thedevice is capable; of numerous uses, but for purposes of exemplificationm has been illustrated and described herein with relation to a doorwhich has movement relative to a door jamb.

Objects of the invention are to provide a checking device eflicient inoperation, economical in construction, with a minimum number ofoperating parts, which occupies a relatively small space and may beobscured from view within the body to which the device is attached.Further objects are to provide a checking device in which a fluidpressure medium flowing through ports from one chamber to anotherabsorbs the thrust on one body relative to another; to provide in a.checking device a tension means having varying degrees of tensionaccording to a; change of length -of leverage; to provide a door closingmeans wherein the force or leverage for closing the door isprogressively increased as the door approaches a closed position from anopen position; and, generally, to improve upon known types v of checkingdevices of the character described.

With the above mentioned and other objects in view, the inventionconsist in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafterdescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawing '35; and pointedoutin the claims hereto appended;

it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, sizeand minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may beresorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

To more clearly comprehend the invention, ref erence is directed to theaccompanying drawing, wherein--- Fig. 1 is abroken horizontal view online l-1 of Fig. 2, partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of cylinder, and showing wedge member andtension device in full lines.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal view partly in section of a modified form oftension device.

Referring to the drawing, wherein like characters of reference designatecorresponding parts,5 represents a door of any'usual type, and 6represents generally a door jamb, consisting of studding '1 and finishframe a, the latter. being built around the studding and secured theretoby any suitable means, suchas nails 9, and providing a box-like chamber10. The door is provided with a. pintle hinge 11 having a pair of butts12 and 13, the former secured to the jamb, 6-and 60. the latter to thedoor 5, as by screws 14. The butt 1 13 is provided in spaced relationtothe pintle with a tongue 15, preferably arcuate at substantially inhorizontal cross section and wedge= shaped in the vertical front plane,and thebutt 5,

12 has opening 17 through which the wedge 15 is received, and also anopening 18 for purposes hereafter described.

Mounted in a recess 16 in the jamb and secured thereto in any suitablemanner is'a frame 19 7 having spaced members adapted to guide a .cylinder in reciprocal path, and as herein exemplified comprise opposinggrooved r guides 20 which slidingly support for vertical reoiprocationtherein a tubular member 21, preferably 751, cylindrical, which isprovided .at opposite sides at its outer walls with rails 22 which havesliding relation to the grooves 20, so that the tubular member 21 may bevertically reciprocated relative to said grooves, excessive downwardmoveso mentbeing prevented by the .ends 23 of the grooves. The cylinder21' is fenestrated in its vertical walls, asat 24 and 25, for receptiontherethrough ofthe wedge tongue 15 as the door. is 5 swung on itshinges, the fenestration opening 24 adjacent the hinge beingpreferablyvertically longer and horizontally wider than the opening 25,since opening 24 must receive the'butt of the tongue 15 and also aflexible member 56, and opening 25 receives therethrough the verticallynarrowed apex of tongue 15. The cylinder member is provided with. a headportion 26.which is adapted to bear on the upper edge of the wedge 15,as the dooris successively opened and closed, and the bearing on thewedge may be given anti-friction. qualities by mounting in the head aroller 27. .j The lower portion of the cylinder has a fluid pressurepiston mechanism comprising within the cylinder walls a vertically'slidable pistonwhich may be integrally formed, and having a bearinghead 30, preferably conical on its upper bearing face, and provided withair vent opening 28, and a piston head 32, and therebetween 5 aconnecting rod 31 of lesser transverse diameter. than the bearing headand piston head; provid ing, with the cylinder walls, a chamber 33be-'-.tween the bearing head and'the piston head, and w communicating withwhich, as at an opening 34,

. cylinder. and comprising,

is a by-pass conduit which extends from said chamber 33 to andcommunicates with a second chamber 36 in the cylinder below the pistonhead 32, as at opening 37, which latter opening has a suitable checkvalve 38, herein shown as a ball type, which opens to permit a supply offluid A, such as oil, to flow into chamber 36 through opening 37 andchecks flow in the opposite direction. I I

A second opening or port 39 is provided in chamber 36 and connects withthe by-pass conduit 35 intermediate openings 34 and 37, and the flowthrough which is controlled or regulated by a suitable valve which maybe a set screw 40 mounted through the wall of the'tubular member, andprovided with a cap nut 41. The valve may be manipulated through opening18 in the butt 12. The bearing head 30 and piston head 32 are snuglyslidable within the cylinder, and,

their upward reciprocation may be accomplished and made more quicklyresponsive by a compression spring 44 mounted in chamber 36 beneath theplunger 32, this latter spring 44 also serving to vertically depress thecylinder walls as the door is opened and-the tongue 15 thereby removed.

A second by-pass 42 isprovided from chamber 33 to 36, having aregulating valve or set screw 43, so that when piston 32 in its downwardmovement passes the port or opening 29, the fluid in chamber 36 mayreadily, and with very little resistance,be forced into chamber 33. V

A tension means generally indicated 45 is also provided preferably inspaced relation to..the in the exemplification herein, a verticallydisposed shaft 46 mounted against axial. rotation at eachits ends, asat4'7, to links 48, which have pivotal connections 49 to the'frame19. Adrum 50 having a radial face is mountedeccentrically on the shaft andpreferably iscycloidalin plan but. may also be of .other shapes to. meetparticular conditions. The drum is adaptedffor rotation on shaft 46 tocoil and uncoil aspring 51 secured at one end'to the drum, as at 52, andat the. other end fixedly secured to aibracket 53,-as at 54, the tensionof the spring being adjustably regulated by any suitable means such asa. screw driven worm 55.1 An elongated flexible member 56, preferably atape, chain or. cable, is securedat one end to the butt 13, preferably.thy-releasable means, such as pin 5'7, and extends'tothe drum 50, passesaround the radial face thereof and has its other end attached to thedrum, as at 58. Inthe arrangement shown inFig. 2, a bracket 59 isprovided, preferably integral with the frame 19, which extends from itspoint :of. mounting to a point adjacent the drum 50 and thereat mounts aroller bearing against whichthe drum 50 and its associated coiledflexible tape bears..-

, When the door is closed,-as shownin full lines in Fig. 1,, the arcuatetongue 7:15 .isdisposed through the openings 24 and 25 of the cylinder,and. the entire cylinder, including the piston mechanism in the lowerportion thereof, isin a raised position, due to head 26 or roller 27bearing on the upper edge of the: tongue. In this position-bearing head30 is depressed by the lower edge, of-the wedge tongue, and asupply offluid, such as oil, occupies chamber 33, and the drum 50 .is in'positionwhere the tape-or cable hasa tangentialpoint B relative. to the drumwhich is the shortest leverage reach ordistance of the eccentricmounting. of the drum on shaft 46,- in which position the spring 51 isset for-low tentongue is carried outwardly with the hinge butt 13, whichaction permits the cylinder 21 to drop downwardly partially by gravity,and partially actuated by spring 44 and the bearing head 30 against thelower edge of the wedge 15. As the wedge is withdrawn from the cylinder,the piston in the cylinder-is raised by spring 44, and the fluid inchamber 33 is pumped or forced by the upward movement of piston head 32through-the by-pass 35 and through the opening 37, into chamber 36. Theend of the tape 52 is likewise carried outwardly by the butt 13 androtates the drum 50 on its eccentric mounting'on shaft 46, and as thedisc is thus rotated, the tension of the spring 48 increases, but theleverage distance of the tangential point B of the tape and drum isincreased with relation to shaft 46 so as to compensate the increasedtension of the spring.

- In the device of Fig. 1, this action is accom plished by the mountingof the shaft 46' in the pivoted links 48. The stress or pull on the tape56 maintains the drum 50' in contact with roller 60 and as the drum isrotated byunwindingthe tape from the drum, due to outward movement ofthedoor 5, 'theleverage reach or distance of 'the tangential pointrelative to'the drum'mounting on shaft 46 increases, which causes thelinks- 48 to swing on pivots 49 away from the vertical plane of tape56;and vice versa, when the door is in the course of closing, the leveragereach ordis tance decreases and the links 48 swing back toward thevertical plane of tape 52. i I.

When the door swings from anopen-position to a closed position, the apexof the tongue wedges between the cylinder head roller 27' and the upperface of the bearing head '30 of the piston, thereby raising the cylinderand simultaneou'sly depressing the piston, including piston head 32."The check valve'38 being closed to outward flow,'the'piston head 32forces the fiuid to cham-- ber 33 through the relatively smaller openingor port 39, and thus provides a checkto the action of spring 51. As thedoor approaches the closed position, the'drurn 50 is reverselypivoted'on its eccentric mounting and gradually decreases the leverage distanceto the tangential 'pointB of disc and tape, thus increasing the poundageof leverage, though the spring 51 is decrea'singits tension.

This arrangement provides for compensating the decrease and increase ofspring tensionby automatic adjustment of the leverage factor,-'and'preventsexcessive tension on the door when itis opened, yetprovides'suflicient tension'when the door closely approaches its"closed'position, so'asto completely closethe door against the usual andwell known action of its latch (not'shown): When the door has reached aposition where it is almost but not completely closed, the-pistonhead'32 passes the opening 29 of thesecondary by-pass 42 which nowpermits the fluid to be forced from chamber 36 to chamber 33 withsubstantially no resistance, so that the door snaps closed against theaction of the door latch. 7

There is preferably included inrthe structure,

a roller 61 over which the flexible member or tape. 52may glide, andwhich by provision of a spring.

actuated mounting member 62 may be adapted to serve as a stop for thedoor at certain positions by means of small lugs 63, 0f which there maybe one or more in spaced recesses 64 which threadedly support same. 7

In Fig. 3 is shown a modification of a tension means in which the drumhas a planetary movement on a fixedly positioned shaft 65, whichcorresponds to shaft 46 in Figs. land 2. In Fig. 3, the drum 50 rotateson shaft 65, and by reason of the eccentric mounting of the drumthereon, the leverage reach is increased and decreased by the planetarymovement of the drum as it is rotated responsive to the winding orunwinding of the tape or cable 56. This modification while satisfactoryrequires more operating space in the recess 10 than is required in thestructures of Figs. 1 and 2.

1. A checking deviceforhin'ged bodies adapted for relative movement,comprising a reciprocable tubular member having a fenestrated wallportion and adapted for mounting on one of said bodies, said tubularmember being closed at one end and provided with a conduit communicatingat spaced openings with the interior of the tubular member, a checkvalve in one of said openings, a piston member adapted for reciprocationwithin the tubular member and provided with spaced heads and aconnection therebetween, a wedgeshaped tongue mounted on the other ofsaid first mentioned bodies adapted for entry between an edge wall ofsaid fenestrated portion and the upper of said piston heads, wherebysaid tubular 35- member and said piston may be relatively moved inopposite directions, and means whereby one of said first mentionedbodies may be moved relatively to the other of said bodies.

2. A checking device for hinged bodies adapted for relative movement,comprising a reciprocable tubular member having a fenestrated wallportion and adapted for mounting on one of said bodies, said tubularmember being closed at one end and provided with a conduit communicatingat spaced openings with the interior of the tubular member, a checkvalve in one of said openings, a piston member adapted for reciprocationwithin the tubular member and provided with spaced heads, and aconnection therebetween, a wedgeshaped tongue, arcuate in horizontalplane, mounted on the other of said first mentioned bodies, and adaptedfor entry between an edge wall of said fenestrated portion and the upperof said piston heads, wherebysaid tubular member and said piston may berelatively moved in opposite directions, and means whereby one of saidfirst mentioned bodies may be moved relatively to the other of saidbodies.

3. A checking device for bodies adapted for hinged relative movement,comprising a fluid pressure cylinder mounted reciprocably on one of saidbodies and provided with a conduit communicating with the interior ofthe cylinder at V spaced points, a piston adapted for reciprocation insaid cylinder, means mounted on the other of said first mentioned bodiesadapted to engage and thereby reciprocate said cylinder and piston eachin an opposite direction, a tension device. comprising a pivotedbracket, a shaft mounted on the bracket, a drum mounted on the shaft,spring means adapted to rotate said drum, a flexible member connected atone end to one of said first mentioned bodies and adapted at the otherend to wind on said drum, the axis of rotaone of said piston heads, a

tion of said drum being eccentric-to the radial face of the drum.

4. A checking device for bodies adapted for hinged relative movement,comprising a fluid pressure-cylinder mounted on one of said bodies andprovided with a conduit communicating with the interior of the cylinderat spaced points, a piston adapted for reciprocation in said cylinder,means mounted on the other of said first mentioned bodies adapted toengage and thereby reciprocate said cylinder and piston in oppositedirections, a tension device comprising a shaft, a cycloidal drumrotatably mounted eccentrically on'the shaft, spring means adapted torotate said drum, a flexible member connected at one end to' one of saidfirst mentioned bodies and adapted at the other end to Wind on the drum,the axis of-rotation of said drum being eccentric to the tangent pointof said drum and said flexible member. I

5. A checking device for bodies adapted for hinged relative movement,comprising a fluid pressure cylinder mounted on one of said bodies andprovided with a conduit communicating with the interior of the cylinderat spaced points, a piston adapted for reciprocation in said cylinder,means mounted on the other of said first mentioned bodies adapted toengage and thereby reciprocate said cylinder and piston in oppositedirections, a tension device comprising a pair of pivoted links, a shaftmounted therebetween,. a drum mounted forrotation on the shaft, springmeans adapted to rotate said drum, a flexible member connected at oneend to one of said first mentioned bodies and adapted at the other endto wind on the radial face of the drum, the axis of rotation of saiddrum being eccentric to the tangent point of said drum and said flexiblemember. 6. A checking device for hinged bodies adapted for! relativemovement, comprising a tubular member adapted for mounting on one ofsaid bodies, said tubular member being closed at one end, a pair ofpiston heads mounted in spaced relation in said tubular member andadapted for reciprocation therein, said tubular member being providedwith a conduit communicatingat spaced openings with the interior-0f thetubular member on opposite sides of one of said piston heads, a checkvalve in one of said openings, means mounted on the other of said firstmentioned bodies adapted. to depress one of said piston heads withinsaid tubular body, and means whereby one of said first mentioned bodiesmay be moved relatively to the other of said bodies. 7. A checkingdevice for hinged bodies adapted for relative movement, comprising areciprocable tubular member adapted for mounting on one of said bodies,said tubular member being closed at one end, a pairof piston headsconnectedly mounted in spaced relation in said tubular memher andadapted for reciprocation therein, said tubular member being providedwith a conduit communicating with the interior of the tubular member atspaced openings'on opposite sides of check valve in one of saidopenings, a Wedge-shaped tongue arcuate in horizontal plane mounted onthe other of said first mentioned bodies adapted for entry between aportion of said'tubular member and the other 8. A checking device forbodies adapted for hinged relative movement, comprising a fluid pressurecylinder mounted reciprocably on one of said bodies and provided with aconduit communicating with the interior of thecylinder at spaced points,a piston adapted for reciprocation in said cylinder, means mounted onthe other oi said first mentioned bodies adapted to engage and therebyreciprocate said cylinder and piston each in an opposite direction, atension device comprising a pivoted bracket, a shaft, a member rotatablymounted eccentrically on the bracket, spring means adapted to rotatesaid rotatably mounted member, a flexible member connected at one end toone of said first mentioned bodies and adapted at the other end to windon the rotatably mounted member, the axis of rotation of said rotatablymounted member being eccentric to the radial face of said member. 7

9. A checking device for hinged bodies adapted for relative movement,comprising means whereby stress of shock may be absorbed when saidhinged bodies are moved toward each other, a.

rotatably mounted member having an arcual eccentric radial face, aflexible member connected to said rotatably mounted member and to one ofsaid hinged bodies and adapted for Winding against said radial face, andmeans adapted to tension said flexible member.

10. A. checking device, for hinged bodies adapted for relative movement,including a pair of members having simultaneous reciprocation inopposite directions, means'including an arci'iate shaped wedge forcausing saidfreciprocation during relative movement 'ofis'aid bodies,- arotatably mounted member hav n arcual eccentric radial face, aflexiblememberconnected to said rotatably mounted member and to one ofsaid hingedbodies' and adapted fonwinding againstsaid radial face, andmeans'adapted to tension said member, I, i s

11. A checkingdevice for rbodieshingedly connected for relativemovement'comprising means mounted on one of said bodies including 'acompression cylinder, a piston 'slidable the cylinder and dividing thecylinder 'intoaflpairof chambers, said cylinder including a by pas'sfrom'one chamber to the other chamber, a head member overlying,the-cyhnden the head member and cylinder having relative reciprocation,and. the other of said hinged bodies; hav ihg fmounted thereon a wedgemember ar'cuate plan adapted tolslidablyie ngage respective opposingfaces of the head member and cylinder, and means whereby one of said.hinged bodies .may be moved relative to the other.['' 1.1" HOMERRIGHE'ITII.

